The invention relates to boards having laterally mounted locking elements as well as to installing them.
A board of the kind mentioned at the beginning is known from printed publication EP 090 6994 A1 as “panel”. As a rule, a panel is an oblong, thin board which can be connected laterally with further panels, i.e. on its longitudinal and transverse sides, e.g. by means of tongues and grooves. Panels connected in this manner are being used particularly as floor coverings or wall coverings.
The connected panels are, for example, put together to form a floor covering known as laminate flooring. The panels comprise a carrier board made from a derived timber product as well as a decorative paper on the top side together with a protection against abrasion.
In order to avoid having to use adhesive, a plug-in profile for a panel is known from printed publication WO 96/27721, which, first of all, comprises tongues and grooves in the known manner. Moreover, each tongue has, at one top side and/or bottom side, at least one continuous protruding locking element. Each groove is provided with furrows in such a way that the protruding locking element arrives in the corresponding furrow when two panels have been snapped together. Thus, a connection between two panels without the use of adhesive is established, brought about by means of a positive fit.
The use of adhesive is not required for assembling a flooring or wall covering from the panels. Of course, it is nevertheless possible, and in some cases—such as in the case of the present invention—advantageous to also use adhesive.
It is known from printed publication WO 96/27721 to connect two panels by shifting in one plane or by a rotary movement around the joint which is located between the two panels.
Furthermore, connections between two panels without the use of adhesives which are effected by lowering, are known from printed publication OS 25 02 992. After lowering, the boards are connected in a positive fit.
The idea of connecting two boards by positive fit without the use of adhesives has been known for several decades, as can be seen from printed publications GB 1 430 423 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,295,341. Particularly with regard to the area of the floor, the joints between two panels should not, for reasons of appearance and hygiene, exhibit any play, so that high demands must made be with regard to production tolerances. At present, production tolerances should not exceed 1/10th of a millimeter. Only in recent years, these production tolerances were successfully realized in practice. Therefore, it has only become possible in the last two years to successfully sell panels for floor coverings which can be connected without the use of adhesives.
Since the panels are manufactured from wood or from a derived timber product, the material warps even after production has been completed. The panels may warp to an extent which makes laying them practically impossible.
The invention is rooted in the problem of providing boards which can be connected without the use of adhesives, which do not exhibit play in the connecting joint after laying is completed and for which the demands with regard to the production tolerances are low in comparison with the above-mentioned state of the art.
The problem is solved by means of a board having the characterizing features of the first claim. Advantageous embodiments result from the dependent claims.